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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2013 2:50:34 GMT
From the Latin “quadragésimo” to Spanish, as in "el cuadragésimo día antes de la pascua” --
the 40th day before Easter, or Lent in English.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lent is celebrated in full in Mexico, with some customs specific to certain places. For instance, the fourth Friday in Lent is celebrated in Oaxaca as Day of the Samaritan woman, with individuals and businesses giving out fruit-flavored "aguas" (-ades) to everyone who drops by. Here's a stand in a small store in a town adjacent to Oaxaca ~  Certainly signs of the season are everywhere, as in this example of Oaxacan tinwork on the balcony of a restaurant ~ This being Mexico, Lent or not, the beat goes on ~  The fifth Friday of Lent in Oaxaca is dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows, with altars set up in homes and churches. I set out with a friend in search of the altars. This one is in the El Patrocinio on the southeast side of El Llano park. This church has always looked rather crumbling, but apparently it's from the 18th century, so a couple of centuries newer than many others in the city. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2013 3:06:49 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2013 3:22:00 GMT
Going toward the main square, we pass in front of the cathedral & see early warning signs of Palm Sunday ~Your move ~ Meanwhile, under the laurel, troupes of young dancers are entertaining the public ~  Here's a group of them lining up to eat ~ 
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2013 3:46:38 GMT
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Post by bjd on Mar 27, 2013 8:12:33 GMT
I don't know how religious Mexicans actually are (although there are quite a few people in the church in one of the photos), but I get the impression that any occasion, religious or otherwise, is a good excuse for music, dancing, food and selling things linked to the festivities.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 27, 2013 16:52:15 GMT
It would be lovely to live in a community where there always seems to be a celebration approaching. It also constantly drives the local economy in an enjoyable way.
I am always impressed by the crafts for sale, this time it is the braided palms.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2013 16:17:21 GMT
That's pretty much true, Bjd. Traditions are well observed and supported here. One thing that really sets this country apart from my own is how people are always out and about. It's totally safe to walk around a downtown after dark, for instance, because there are shoppers, street vendors, people meeting to eat at street stands, etc. And that's people of all age & social groups, which is how I suppose the world once was, before we all went inside, closing the doors on our climatized homes and only emerging to go somewhere in the car.
Absolutely, Mich! Hey, if you'll look at the 2nd photo in #2 and the last one in #3, you can see what the palm weavers make the rest of the year. Those are tenates, used to hold hot tortillas, although obviously they can be used for clothes, waste paper, toys, or any number of things.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 28, 2013 22:44:15 GMT
They are so talented! I would take a few of those tenates, decorative and functional. I could find many uses for them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2013 23:23:44 GMT
Fingers crossed that you get here one day, Mich. We'll shop & visit until we're silly! Well, it's still Lent. In actual time, it's the day before Easter, but I'm going to wrap up this thread with images from Holy Thursday. That's because I scored big-time in capturing the really amazing Good Friday celebrations here, & will show them in a separate thread. It was a beautiful day Thursday, although extremely hot -- usual for this time of year ~   Blessed bread was being sold, both inside .....  ..... and outside the churches. The girl on the right told me it could be eaten or saved, that in either event it was to insure always having food in the house ~  I've never encountered this before, maybe because I'm not a church-goer. When I was a child, the statues were covered in purple cloth during Lent. I don't know if the curtain is only a Mexican custom or standard practice.  Another church, another curtain ~  Something else I've never seen before -- Jesus behind bars. I was to see it again the next day in a different church. It makes sense in terms of the Passion story, in which he is arrested and tried.  A statue of the Virgin of Solitude -- Mary in her infinite solitude at the scene of her child's martyrdom. Each church participating in the procession of silence tomorrow will carry a statue of the Virgin of Solitude ~    |
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2013 23:38:12 GMT
Back outside, into the beautiful late afternoon ~  Corralling my dogs, who're trying to horn in on this family's treats ~  And wandering further down the pedestrian street, little realizing how much time I'd be spending at the doors of this church the next day ~    Church bells have been ringing all day, to the point I'm blotting them out, but the bells of Sto. Domingo just got more insistent, so we walk back up there to see people streaming into the church ~  Oh, that's right -- today is the day of the washing of the feet, but it doesn't look like I'll see much here, not with a throng at the door & three dogs in tow ~   We go up by the church of Carmen Alto on the way home. It has a food fair going on all around it & the same throng at the door,so no foot washing photo-ops here either. Oh well, tomorrow will make up for that! 
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2013 17:15:58 GMT
I finally managed to see this great thread, which is causing me problems because the photos are loading really, really slowly.
I really like all of the outdoor scene, much more than the religious mumbo jumbo activities inside the churches, although of course it is always interesting to see as well.
Question: are "cowboy" hats commonly seen in Mexico, such as those worn by the men with the palm weavers and dancers? I think I noticed them more because of the combination of hat + bandana instead of just "hat all by itself."
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Post by nycgirl on Apr 19, 2013 2:46:17 GMT
I enjoy watching the outdoor scenes as well, from the dancers to the lovely palm designs.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 15, 2017 19:20:02 GMT
I guess four and a half years later is a little tardy to be answering thread comments!   Sorry for missing them all that time ago. I'm seeing them now because I just renovated this thread after the photobucket disaster. No more gray squares here!  Kerouac, to answer the question about the cowboy hats ~ you'll note that in the crowd scenes there are no cowboy hats in evidence. Where the Palm Sunday items are being made, you can see that the early-middle-aged to elderly men are wearing straw cowboy hats, whereas the younger men have opted for baseball caps. That's pretty much the norm in rural areas, although in very rural areas the younger men still wear cowboy hats too -- usually straw, rather than felt. The dancers are wearing cowboy hats because they're in costume for the dancing. At any rate, many thanks to both you and NYCGirl for the kind remarks.  |
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Post by lagatta on Mar 8, 2019 17:58:12 GMT
A Portuguese family down the street from me have their BVM wrapped up warm in a red polar fleece blanket fastened with a pin. Nothing to do with Lent as they covered her at least a month ago, but she sure looks cosy in the deep chill this ghastly winter. I think of ladies here who have recently arrived from Syria: no bombs, shooting and other horrors, but ...WTF?  The Lenten association probably explains why violet was allowed in demi-deuil, the less stringent part of the mandatory mourning period. |
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Post by casimira on Mar 8, 2019 18:51:20 GMT
Thank you for pulling this thread back up Lagatta.
I had forgotten about it and likely would not have recognized what the name for the Lenten observance was in Spanish.
The pageantry, celebration, crafts and reverence etc. continue to fascinate and lure me back there in a big way.
The palm weavings alone are spectacular in their own right.
I remember a couple of the churches featured but would love to see them this time of year.
And of course the skies there always just send me...
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Post by lagatta on Mar 9, 2019 14:59:23 GMT
Quaresima in Italian; Carème in French.
I did make a monkfish stew - very tasty. Frozen fish from a Portuguese company (about the best frozen fish). Church attendance has fallen precipitously among old-stock Québecois but traces remain - the major supermarkets had central pages of fish and seafood in their flyers, as well as fish on the front page. And I've never viewed fish as penance!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2019 15:38:01 GMT
LaGatta, the BVM all dressed for winter is such a charming image.
Somewhere in some thread on here there are pictures of the Lenten fish stands in the big market, but I can't remember where.
Thanks, Casimira. The first time I remember seeing all that woven palm stuff for Palm Sunday was in one of the northern towns on the Mexico/Texas border. That was 25 or 30 years ago, so I guess it's been a thing in this country for a long time. As you see, this thread hasn't been updated in a long time. I'm going out later and will try to snap some appropriate pictures.
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